Have you ever wondered if your baby has a little case of “FOMO” — fear of missing out? 

If bedtime feels like a battle or naps never seem to stick, it could be more than a phase. FOMO babies are naturally curious, alert, and socially engaged, which can make sleep feel tricky — both for them and for you.

In this blog, we’ll explore what makes a FOMO baby unique, how their temperament influences sleep, and practical strategies to help them settle more easily. By understanding who your baby is, you can transform bedtime from a struggle into a calmer, more predictable routine.

What is a FOMO baby and do I have one?

A FOMO baby — short for “fear of missing out” — is a little one who doesn’t want to miss a thing. They are alert, curious, highly social, and constantly engaged with their surroundings. While these traits make them wonderfully interactive and fun, they can also make sleep more challenging.

Understanding your baby’s temperament can give you real insight into why they resist sleep and how to help them settle. Temperament refers to the inborn traits that shape how a baby reacts to the world. FOMO babies often show a combination of traits such as:

• High activity – even when tired, they keep moving or kicking, making it hard to calm down.

• Low adaptability – transitions, including bedtime, can feel overwhelming and trigger resistance.

• High approach – they eagerly engage with everything around them, wanting to be part of it all.

• Low rhythmicity – unpredictable sleep and wake patterns make it difficult to stick to schedules.

• High persistence – once they are interested in something, they keep going, rather than winding down.

• Low threshold for responsiveness – small noises, light, or movement can easily keep them alert.

Recognising these traits helps you see that your baby isn’t “difficult” — they just have a nervous system that naturally resists disengagement. Once you understand this, you can start tailoring sleep strategies, routines, and self-settling techniques that work with your baby’s temperament rather than against it.

Helping Your FOMO Baby Sleep

Once you understand your baby’s temperament, helping them sleep becomes much more about working with who they are than forcing them into generic rules. Here are some practical strategies for FOMO babies:

• Create predictable rhythms – FOMO babies thrive on consistency. Following the same order of activities each day (feed → play → wind-down → sleep) helps their brain anticipate sleep, even if exact times vary.

• Use strong wind-down signals – Dim lights, calm movements, and minimal noise signal that stimulation is ending. This gives their nervous system the cue to start relaxing.

• Support self-settling – Gradual self-settling helps FOMO babies disengage from the world without overstimulation. The key is introducing it gently, with repeated cues tailored to your baby’s temperament.

• Protect naps and early mornings – Quiet, familiar sleep spaces and low stimulation prevent their alert, curious minds from jumping into “daytime mode” too early.

• Match strategies to temperament – There is no one-size-fits-all. By understanding whether your baby is highly persistent, highly sensitive, or low in adaptability, you can choose the right approach that actually works for them — and for your sanity!

The Problem with Rocking and Feeding to Sleep for FOMO Babies

One common challenge for parents of FOMO babies is that extended (after the newborn months) hands-on settling — rocking to sleep, feeding to sleep, or holding them until they drift off — often backfires.

While it feels comforting in the moment, FOMO babies are highly alert and easily stimulated by everything around them, including their parents.

Prolonged contact or motion can actually overstimulate their nervous system, making it harder for them to switch off. This often leads to long awake windows as they resist sleep, leaving parents thinking their baby can’t self-settle.

In reality, once you reduce over-stimulation, introduce consistent wind-down cues, and teach self-settling gradually, FOMO babies can learn to disengage and sleep more predictably. Self-settling, when combined with strategies tailored to their temperament, is often the key that transforms bedtime from a battle into a calmer, manageable routine.

These are exactly the kinds of strategies I teach in my sleep programs, where parents learn to read their baby’s temperament, set up effective routines, and implement sleep techniques that truly suit their child. Rather than trying one generic method after another, you’ll gain the knowledge and confidence to help your FOMO baby settle more easily — and sleep better, for everyone.